


Seeking, Finding

by jacksgreyson



Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen, Naruto
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Mentorship, Team Bonding, Training Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 08:18:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18752563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacksgreyson/pseuds/jacksgreyson
Summary: Hana doesn’t play favorites. She plays games.(Or, Inuzuka Hana is a Very Good jounin sensei)





	Seeking, Finding

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jondera](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jondera/gifts).



**_(one: wave)_ **

Hana doesn’t play favorites. It’s how she ended up with all three of the Haimaru brothers as her ninken partners instead of just the one partner like most of her clanmates. Lucky for her, there were other dog litters and not so many human kids so it didn’t cause any intraclan problems. 

Lucky for her, not playing favorites will help make her a good jounin sensei.

Hana doesn’t play favorites. She doesn’t even say it jokingly or ironically or conditionally: No “you’re my favorite” bestowed when Ranmaru mediates between Hanabi and Mr. Cranberry. No “you’re my favorite” when Hanabi antagonizes the entirety of Team Ebisu unrepentantly and Hana has to deal with the consequences. Not even a “you’re my favorite Aburame student” to Chiyako--not because it’s untrue, but because Hana refuses to use the word and there are better phrases and ways to express her affection for her students without using such a double edged word as favorite.

Because favorites and favoritism are so inherently unequal, the concept of preferring one ninken over the others or, worse, preferring one student over the others? Not the kind of team she wants to build.

That’s not to say that she treats each of them the same--because same and equal are, funnily enough, two entirely different things:

Just like how she knows that the Haimaru brothers like to be rewarded differently--new treats or toys for Mitsuru, a nice long grooming session for Sanji, a bout of roughhousing followed by belly scratches for Zou--she knows that each of her students have different weaknesses and strengths and lessons to learn.

And it’s her job to make sure that each of them get everything they need.

So no, Hana doesn’t play favorites. She plays games.

 

* * *

 

**_(two: messenger)_ **

Hana doesn’t play favorites. She plays games. They teach both life and ninja skills and, also, they’re just fun.

And while Hana might not have a favorite game, her students do:

Ranmaru likes Hide and Seek the best. A bit traditional, yes, and not particularly easy with three dogs, an Aburame, and a Hyuuga involved, but it pushes him to develop more intricate genjutsu or, at least, wilier tactics and hiding places.

Chiyako enjoys the Scavenger Hunts, getting to know the village as a whole. They’re exercises in planning, prioritizing, and strategy. And if Mr. Cranberry and her kikaichu are particularly helpful in this game, well, teaching the future Aburame matriarch to manage her hive can’t be anything but good.

Hanabi never asks to play Three Dog Monte. Amongst her teammates, she’s actually the worst at Three Dog Monte--not that she’ll ever admit to that, either--but every time they play, she gets a look in her eyes that has nothing to do with the Byakugan. Those games generally end with the Haimaru brothers literally dogpiling her, tails wagging as Hanabi ineffectively tries to push them off, smiles on all four of their faces.

Hana plays games and so Team Hana plays games, too.

* * *

**_(three: camouflage)_ **

Hana plays games because that’s what she learned from her mother.

Play-fights and fun training exercises weren’t new to the Inuzuka. When a clan’s strength is based on their members’ bonds with their ninken, camaraderie and morale are fairly crucial. But games with specific goals and structured rules? Not exactly the Inuzuka style.

But what else was Tsume supposed to do when faced with a surly, sullen eyed six year old chuunin Hatake Kakashi recently recruited to the Sensory Squad? All she knew about him was what everyone knew about the White Fang, that he was a little boy who had seen too much, and that he loved rules.

And so she came up with games--not that she would ever refer to them as such in front of him, though Pakkun of the very soft paws had gently offered one to her in gratitude when he realized--just so that, at least during the short times when he was under Tsume’s command, Kakashi wouldn’t need to be the joyless, heartless soldier that war demanded.

They worked… as much as the Kakashi at that time would let them, absorbing the skills and the structure, if not also the fun. And they were still valuable, Tsume playing the games with her own children. And they must have lingered, just a little bit, because when Tsume sees Shikako with tally marks on her cheek she grins.

Not a bad legacy to have.

* * *

**_(four: sheep and wolf)_ **

Hana doesn’t play favorites… but the Haimaru brothers do. It’s how they ended up with the same, singular human partner instead of properly getting one human each. Kuromaru-alpha did growl at them about tradition, but Shiromi-mother had just huffed and told them to share properly.

The Haimaru brothers know that none of them will ever be Hana’s favorite. It’s part of why they chose her, why they love her, why she’s their favorite human instead. But now that Hana has students--three students to be exact--they have more humans to play favorites with.

Mitsuru likes Chiyako the best, how she always has interesting scents on her, and sometimes treats for him in her pockets. He likes the way she’s eager to explore, just like he is, and the way she scratches behind his ears in just the right spot. Mitsuru even likes when Chiyako puts Mr. Cranberry on his back, because that means they both trust him, and Mr. Cranberry has the funniest opinions about the strangest things. He gets used to the feeling of kikaichu in his fur and never scratches no matter how much it itches, because Chiyako is his favorite and accepting her means accepting her hive, too.

Sanji is most fond of Hanabi because she knows what she wants even if she’ll never say it out loud. That’s okay, Sanji doesn’t need her to say it. He knows from the way she sits beside him in the grass, long, sure strokes along his back. He knows from the way she runs ahead, but always circles back within his range. He knows from the way she carries a grooming brush in her weapons pouch and how she always finds and fixes the worst of the tangles. He knows from the way, after a particular stressful clan interaction, she’ll sink shaking fingers into his ruff and not cry. Sanji’s favorite is Hanabi because she chose him to be her favorite.

Zou thinks Ranmaru is weak. It’s not an insult, it’s just fact. Ranmaru has scrawny arms, he’s particularly slow, and even the lightest nudge from Zou will knock the boy over... which is why he does so at least once a day, to build up Ranmaru’s resistance. But weakness isn’t a forever state. Zou remembers when he was weak, a mere pup who needed Shiromi-mother and then Hana to protect him, guide him, train him. Ranmaru is much the same. He tries, he trains, and eventually he even manages to stay on his feet when Zou shoves at him. Then Ranmaru starts a playfight he knows he’ll lose, but he tries and that’s what makes Zou wag his tail, a dopey, doggy grin on his face.

The Haimaru brothers play favorites. Hana is okay with that.

* * *

**_(five: ringalevio)_ **

Hana doesn’t play favorites. Which, yes, does help make her a good jounin sensei, but it is only a mere part of the greater sum. Her lack of favoritism doesn’t prevent her from loving her team fully and fiercely, guiding them and guarding them as they grow.

She doesn’t need to play favorites to know that banana flavored candy will put a smile on Hanabi’s face, never mind that she claims to be too mature, too dignified for sweets. She doesn’t need to play favorites to nurture Chiyako’s interest in wind nature jutsu, though it isn’t traditional for Aburame at all. She doesn’t need to play favorites to know when to toss an insomniac Ranmaru at the Hokage mountain, climbing alongside him so when they reach the top they can watch the sun rising over the village that they both call home.

Kindness, curiosity, and compassion.

Not a bad legacy at all.


End file.
